One of the consequences of having made the decision not to do Faire this year is that I can not avail myself of the NYRF Dating-and-Weight-Loss program. To be sure, I would not concern myself with the ‘Dating’ part. I got me my man, thanks very much, and he’s lovely and I’m keeping him all to myself. But the ‘Weight-Loss’ bit, well... I’ll miss it.

City rehearsals were always a good kick-start. Lots of late evenings, no time to grab a decent meal save for granola bars and fruit and a couple of liter bottles of water. Add in rehearsal rooms that, despite shiny new air conditioners and ceiling fans made to be thwacked every single time you molinette, offer the relative comfort of a sauna and that winter weight started to shrink away.

Factor in joust rehearsals - hours in the hot sun, riding and running games and walking the list and, because some of us were freaks, running the circuit of the site and ‘pressing the deck’ - and the body was that much further on the way to slender-land.

On-site rehearsals were eight or nine hours of physical activity: scenes (usually with fights), chess game fights, an hour or so of joust rehearsal (see above), joust ground fight...

Then, the Faire day itself. My schedule was a bit mad, admittedly. I had maybe half an hour of down time, usually before or after the first joust. I couldn’t eat before the joust; that was a recipe for gastrointestinal disaster. Certainly I was too overheated after, and usually I was frantically wiggling back into costume so that I could run - literally - across the grounds to a Wench set. Every so often I’d have a pickle (mmmm.... electrolytes!) or a handful of trail mix. Emergen-C was my dearest companion. Don’t think I was starving myself; every Faire day I had a decent breakfast and a good dinner. It is just that, during the performance day, my body was running at full throttle. And the weight melted off. I could eat anything I wanted during the week. Didn’t make a difference. I was gloriously fit and slender.

Only this year, I don’t have that. I have to think about it. And I am. Obsessively. I gained a lot of weight this winter, a combination of my advancing age (why yes, I am old and creaky) and my general feeling of gloom-and-doom; I hesitate to call it depression. So. Not only am I heavier than I’ve ever been, I’m actually going to have to work at shedding that pesky poundage.

So here’s what I’m trying:

Smaller portions. This is a big deal for me. I love food, I love eating, and I’m terrible at stopping when I’m actually full. Thus, a concerted effort to put less on the plate, eat slowly, and not necessarily finish the entire portion.

Drinking more water. I’m good while I’m at work, but at home? Not so much.

Reading labels. Did you know there is high fructose corn syrup in Thomas’ Multi-Grain English muffins? What the hell? Not in the Trader Joe’s version, though. And so my love for TJs grows and grows and grows.

Eating more fresh fruit and veggies. Yes, I know natural sugars abound. But I love fresh fruit, and better that I eat a couple of handfuls of baby carrots than hit the vending machine at work. Yes? Also, adding in an extra serving of veggies with dinner (when I think of it).

I’ve been running, sporadically, on Tuesdays and Thursdays with young_will. She’s an excellent companion and cheerleader, and there’s the added bonus of our DVD exchange as well as adventures into Dino-land. Which, by the way, is mainly populated by mosquitoes. The dearth of non-squirrel based dinosaurs is a bit disheartening. Funny; I’m much more likely to run at the track when I’m with someone else. I don’t know why that is. And yet, this morning I went by myself. I did a total of three miles, of which I ran (jogged, really) two. There was this guy there who ran three miles without stopping to walk a lap. I must confess that I hated him a little bit.

Too, I’ve been doing a fat-burning yoga DVD. Now, I really need to find somewhere locally where I can take classes. I know I’m doing things wrong, and that my form is not what it should be. Until I find such a place (more specifically, such a place that offers classes that will fit within my wacky schedule), I’ll do the best I can with the DVD. If nothing else, I’m sweating and moving and increasing my flexibility.

To make up for the lack of riding time* and the wonders it did for my thighs, I’m doing pliés a couple of times a week. Did a hundred today. It’s not the same; I want to be on horseback, gorramit, but that’s another concern. (note to self: scope out rates for semi-private lessons; I’d love to get my technique back)

That’s where I stand. I’ve not yet lost any weight. To be fair, I’ve only been at it a couple of weeks and my metabolism sure ain’t what she used to be. But I can do this. I have to do this.

If anyone has suggestions or words of encouragement, I wouldn’t be averse to hearing them. If anyone has the urge to pooh-pooh or naysay, well, I can’t stop you. But I will scoff. I may well sneer. Or I may burst into bitter, lonely tears. I’m a rebel. You just don’t know what I’m going to do!

*I miss Oso. So damned much. I’m staying out of the way so that everyone actually involved in the show can rehearse and do what they need to, but... I love that horse. And not seeing him hurts. And knowing he isn't mine, when I still feel as if he should be... wow. Sucks so very much.

On a completely unrelated note: this is one of my favourite icons. Doubtless, I overuse it; I don't care. Pretty!

As a veteran of Weight watchers (would you like to see my battle-wound/stretch marks or Purple-toffee, earned for looking into the eyes of the truffle and coming away unscathed?), I can only say uselessly that your body will occasionally go "Hey, I'm on a plateau. You wanna run? Run. This fat is going NO WHERE" and that's when you don't gain or loose for weeks running no matter WHAT. But, no worries. I know you'll break it eventually.

And if you're looking for fun ways to work out, I just picked up a belly-dancer work out DVD which is entertaining and tricky enough to fool yourself into thinking that it's not actually exercise, which is always a good thing.

Speaking as one with little perspective and less experience, or slightly more concretely, as one who's metabolism has just started to slow.* I've recently started my heads and tails program, which, while I can't speak to its effects as of yet, I can say that schedule-wise, and feasibility-wise, it's pretty damn great. It's a brief regimen of excercise when I first wake up, and when I'm headed off to bed. Nothing crazy, nothing too long... but it has appeared to give me a lot more energy in the morning, and managed to tire me out at night. This, in itself, would seem to grant it worth.

*As an aside, at studio graduation, I was asked what I thought the most significant thing I've gained over four years of art school was. My answer? 30 lbs.

Much love to you sugar. I'll definitely be missing the opportunity to spend time with you and your highly devoted man this summer. Were I in Jersey I'd offer to run w/ you or someithing, in the mean-time I'll just wish you all the best and GOOD LUCK!